Brandon Wolf, Judy Shepard, Dennis Shepard to be honored at Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast
The 14th annual event recognizing LGBTQ+ advocacy will take place May 14 at the Palm Springs Convention Center.
Pulse Nightclub shooting survivor and LGBTQ+ advocate Brandon Wolf will receive the Harvey B. Milk Leadership Award, while Judy Shepard and Dennis Shepard will be honored with the Harvey B. Milk Legacy Award at the 14th annual Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast on May 14, it was announced Monday.
The event will be held at the Palm Springs Convention Center, with a coffee hour beginning at 8:30 a.m. followed by breakfast and the program at 9:30 a.m.
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Wolf is a nationally recognized advocate for LGBTQ+ civil rights and gun safety, as well as a bestselling author. He survived the 2016 mass shooting at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub that killed 49 people.
He appears frequently on MSNBC and CNN and has written for publications including Oprah Daily, The New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today. Wolf has been named one of Logo TV’s 30 LGBTQ Changemakers, Huffington Post’s 30 LGBTQ Influencers under 30, and Out Magazine’s 100 Most Influential LGBTQ People in America.
In 2019, Wolf became the first Pulse survivor to testify before Congress. He returned in 2022 to testify on the rise of anti-LGBTQ hate violence before the House Oversight Committee. He served as a national surrogate for Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 campaign and was an advisory committee member for President Biden’s 2020 general election bid.
The Dru Project, which Wolf cofounded after the Pulse shooting, has provided more than $250,000 in college funding to LGBTQ+ youth since its inception.
Judy and Dennis Shepard lost their 21-year-old son, Matthew, in October 1998 to a murder motivated by anti-gay hate. The family established the Matthew Shepard Foundation to carry on Matthew’s legacy.
The foundation works toward the causes Matthew championed during his life: social justice, diversity awareness and education, and equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Judy Shepard is the founding president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation Board of Directors and served as its first executive director from 1999 to 2009. She authored a 2009 memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew,” exploring the family’s journey through the prosecution of Matthew’s assailants. On May 3, 2024, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Dennis Shepard has served on the foundation’s board since its inception and currently speaks to audiences around the country, particularly to victims’ advocacy organizations and law enforcement audiences.
The breakfast honors the memory of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California, and his legacy in the struggle to achieve LGBTQ+ equality. The event is designed to strengthen coalitions among the many diverse community organizations that work toward equality in the Coachella Valley.
Details: Tickets and sponsorships are available at www.HarveyMilk.us. Co-sponsor tables of eight range from $750 to $2,500, with student tables available for $750. Individual tickets cost $95.
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